26 April 2014 - shout of victory
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Most of us don't have advanced theological training. But that doesn't matter.
Observing the boldness of Peter and John
and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,
the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,
and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Jesus gives us the strength to be bold for him. He sends his Holy Spirit to give us the words we need. They need not be complex theological expositions. In fact our first words about Jesus should always be simple. We say, "Jesus lives, though he was dead, and he loves you." We may have to expound from there. But what if we run into folks like the the companions of Mary Magdalene who do not believe her? What if we are like those to whom the two return? They say simply that they have seen the risen LORD. But the others do not believe.
Do we then have to expound some complicated theology to be persuasive? No! We just insist that we know what we know. Jesus is risen, alleluia! He has come to meet us and reveal that not even death can stop his love for us. Would it even help if Mary Magdalene or the two started into a complicated apologetic? Unlikely. Instead they must simply allow the impact which seeing the risen LORD has had on them to be visible to those around them. Let us not be shy about our own "shout of victory" in response to the resurrection!
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just.
This boldness prepares us for phase two of evangelism. What do we do in response to open hostility? What do we do when our joy in Jesus threatens the old order? Positions of worldly power and authority call us to silence so that they can hold on to their power. Jesus has a plan for human life? For sex and marriage? For everything? How dare we.
But so that it may not be spread any further among the people,
let us give them a stern warning
never again to speak to anyone in this name.”
So they called them back
and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Peter and John are not the first to believe. They doubt before they accept the truth. They are not well educated. But now that they have encountered the risen LORD they are bold in a way that makes others recognize "them as companions of Jesus." Now that they are filled with the Holy Spirit they can't help but proclaim their own "joyful shout".
Peter and John, however, said to them in reply,
“Whether it is right in the sight of God
for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.
It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”
Is it also impossible for us?
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
25 April 2014 - blocking the path
25 April 2014 - blocking the path
What is it with these builders? The structure that is at the center of God's plan throughout history needs a cornerstone. Until the resurrection it waits for the central weight-bearing piece. The resurrection reveals the one piece that will fit. It reveals the one piece that will make the whole structure stand and endure even beyond death.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
What is it with us? Why are we so ready to cling to the way things have always been? If we don't recognize ourselves in the Sadducees and discover that we share a motivation with them we will not repent of it. If we don't repent we continue to subvert, consciously or unconsciously, the truth of the resurrection.
There is something within us which struggles with this truth. Something within rebels. But what? The disciples proclaim "in Jesus the resurrection of the dead" and suddenly we look uncomfortable. We begin shifting in our seats. We want to qualify this statement, explain it, and give it context. Why? Well, doesn't it seem like overkill that the resurrection of the dead should be embodied in one person? Doesn't it seem unfair that there is only one name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved? We don't want to impose this truth on others. We don't want to believe in a truth that is true enough that it makes demands not just on us but on the whole world.
Yet this is what the Scriptures say. To the degree that we try to qualify it and explain it away we detract from its transformative power. We weaken the ability of this truth to change things for the better. Worse, we ourselves risk working against this change.
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
The truth which frees is the only source of this transformation and healing. It is not necessarily the easy truth. It is not the truth which is the easiest to speak. But it is the true truth. Ultimately, that is what matters. So how should we proclaim it? We should be bold. We should be straightforward.
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
But even more than this there is one other element which should characterize our proclamation. With it bold truths cut to the heart and convert. Without it this truth is merely divisive.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,
Filled with the Holy Spirit we see how good it is that Jesus is the cornerstone. We are so filled with this truth that it becomes infectious and fills those who hear our words. They can see the joy with which it fills us. Before we even begin to explain why all this is fair after all peoples hearts will begin to change.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
We have experienced Easter. Let us not return to our previous lives. Let us not return to our boats and to fishing. In some ways this feels right because the truth of the resurrection, if it is really true, demands a response so great that it makes us nervous. But we see today, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that this response is entirely worth it.
What is it with these builders? The structure that is at the center of God's plan throughout history needs a cornerstone. Until the resurrection it waits for the central weight-bearing piece. The resurrection reveals the one piece that will fit. It reveals the one piece that will make the whole structure stand and endure even beyond death.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
What is it with us? Why are we so ready to cling to the way things have always been? If we don't recognize ourselves in the Sadducees and discover that we share a motivation with them we will not repent of it. If we don't repent we continue to subvert, consciously or unconsciously, the truth of the resurrection.
There is something within us which struggles with this truth. Something within rebels. But what? The disciples proclaim "in Jesus the resurrection of the dead" and suddenly we look uncomfortable. We begin shifting in our seats. We want to qualify this statement, explain it, and give it context. Why? Well, doesn't it seem like overkill that the resurrection of the dead should be embodied in one person? Doesn't it seem unfair that there is only one name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved? We don't want to impose this truth on others. We don't want to believe in a truth that is true enough that it makes demands not just on us but on the whole world.
Yet this is what the Scriptures say. To the degree that we try to qualify it and explain it away we detract from its transformative power. We weaken the ability of this truth to change things for the better. Worse, we ourselves risk working against this change.
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
The truth which frees is the only source of this transformation and healing. It is not necessarily the easy truth. It is not the truth which is the easiest to speak. But it is the true truth. Ultimately, that is what matters. So how should we proclaim it? We should be bold. We should be straightforward.
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
But even more than this there is one other element which should characterize our proclamation. With it bold truths cut to the heart and convert. Without it this truth is merely divisive.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,
Filled with the Holy Spirit we see how good it is that Jesus is the cornerstone. We are so filled with this truth that it becomes infectious and fills those who hear our words. They can see the joy with which it fills us. Before we even begin to explain why all this is fair after all peoples hearts will begin to change.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
We have experienced Easter. Let us not return to our previous lives. Let us not return to our boats and to fishing. In some ways this feels right because the truth of the resurrection, if it is really true, demands a response so great that it makes us nervous. But we see today, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that this response is entirely worth it.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
24 April 2014 - resurrection paradigm
24 April 2014 - resurrection paradigm
The truth of the resurrection seems hard to believe. The reason for this is that for all human history prior to Jesus death has the last word. Great men live, they make some difference in history, but they die in the end, whether Socrates, Caesar, or Buddha. We try to fit Jesus into this context rather than imagining the possibility that the paradigm has changed. But Jesus is not just one among the historical dead. His resurrection is not a spiritual connection to some distant world of the dead.
“Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
Jesus wants to reveal to each of us the reality of his resurrection. He wants to show us that it is something which really impacts the concrete history of the universe. It is not mainly a new way to think or to contextualize the things which already are. It is indeed a new way to think and a new context. But it is these things because it is a new power in history which is heretofore unknown.
Lest we be taken totally by surprise, we are reminded that this is God's plan from the beginning. We just can't understand it until we encounter the risen LORD. Now that he is risen the Scriptures themselves share in the power of his resurrection. They make our hearts burn within us.
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
Our risen LORD, by the very fact of his resurrection, is able to open our minds in this way. Are our minds open to understand the Scriptures? It is our baptismal birthright! Let us not shrink from it. It isn't that we have to be scholars and understand abstraction and nuance. However, we must, absolutely must, experience his power in his word. It is a necessary precursor to the mission which he has for us and indeed for all Christians:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
Only a real resurrection empowers real healings.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
And we doubt these for the same reason we try to downplay the resurrection. Our expectation is that suffering and death will continue as they always have. So let our minds be opened by the risen Jesus. His power in the Scripture can change our expectations. It can open us to his healing power. And finally, it can make us witnesses to the whole world. The world is in desperate need of "times of refreshment" and it longs for the "universal restoration". These things have long been promised in the Scriptures. But the Scriptures are locked until we meet the risen Christ. But now he opens our minds to understand them. We can no longer keep this promise of blessing to ourselves. Now that Jesus is risen the world can finally be restored. The dignity of man, which man was always meant to have, can be restored. People need to know it!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
The truth of the resurrection seems hard to believe. The reason for this is that for all human history prior to Jesus death has the last word. Great men live, they make some difference in history, but they die in the end, whether Socrates, Caesar, or Buddha. We try to fit Jesus into this context rather than imagining the possibility that the paradigm has changed. But Jesus is not just one among the historical dead. His resurrection is not a spiritual connection to some distant world of the dead.
“Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
Jesus wants to reveal to each of us the reality of his resurrection. He wants to show us that it is something which really impacts the concrete history of the universe. It is not mainly a new way to think or to contextualize the things which already are. It is indeed a new way to think and a new context. But it is these things because it is a new power in history which is heretofore unknown.
Lest we be taken totally by surprise, we are reminded that this is God's plan from the beginning. We just can't understand it until we encounter the risen LORD. Now that he is risen the Scriptures themselves share in the power of his resurrection. They make our hearts burn within us.
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
Our risen LORD, by the very fact of his resurrection, is able to open our minds in this way. Are our minds open to understand the Scriptures? It is our baptismal birthright! Let us not shrink from it. It isn't that we have to be scholars and understand abstraction and nuance. However, we must, absolutely must, experience his power in his word. It is a necessary precursor to the mission which he has for us and indeed for all Christians:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
Only a real resurrection empowers real healings.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
And we doubt these for the same reason we try to downplay the resurrection. Our expectation is that suffering and death will continue as they always have. So let our minds be opened by the risen Jesus. His power in the Scripture can change our expectations. It can open us to his healing power. And finally, it can make us witnesses to the whole world. The world is in desperate need of "times of refreshment" and it longs for the "universal restoration". These things have long been promised in the Scriptures. But the Scriptures are locked until we meet the risen Christ. But now he opens our minds to understand them. We can no longer keep this promise of blessing to ourselves. Now that Jesus is risen the world can finally be restored. The dignity of man, which man was always meant to have, can be restored. People need to know it!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
23 April 2014 - road trip lessons
23 April 2014 - road trip lessons
Easter changes everything. Easter makes the healing power of resurrection available to confront and to overcome everything that afflicts mankind. Yet we live as if that power is still sealed in the tomb. We converse and debate about the more abstract meanings of the life of Jesus but we often miss him when he draws near.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
We resemble the crippled man at the beautiful gate. We have been scrapping by for so long begging for alms that we can't raise our expectations to anything greater.
And a man crippled from birth was carried
and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day
to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.
But there is more for the man and there is more for us. How do we find it? Let us listen to Peter:
But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,
and said, “Look at us.”
He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you:
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”
The man looks to Peter and John and sees not just them, but representatives of Jesus. He looks through them to connect with the presence of Jesus in his Mystical Body. It is by means of this relationship that Peter heals him.
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up,
and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.
We are called to be able to recognize the presence of Jesus as the cripple does. We are called to recognize his presence as the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize it.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
When we are slow to see him in the Eucharist and in his body what should we do? We should open ourselves to his Word. His resurrection power is present in the Eucharist the most profoundly, but it is also present in his Body, and in his Word. And they all feed into one another and strengthen our ability to recognize him in all of his forms.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
As Blessed Teresa of Calcutta tells us:
Like the crippled man at the gate we won't just be healed. We will leap to our feet, walking, jumping and praising God. So let us look at Jesus. Let us keep looking until our eyes are opened.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Easter changes everything. Easter makes the healing power of resurrection available to confront and to overcome everything that afflicts mankind. Yet we live as if that power is still sealed in the tomb. We converse and debate about the more abstract meanings of the life of Jesus but we often miss him when he draws near.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
We resemble the crippled man at the beautiful gate. We have been scrapping by for so long begging for alms that we can't raise our expectations to anything greater.
And a man crippled from birth was carried
and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day
to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.
But there is more for the man and there is more for us. How do we find it? Let us listen to Peter:
But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,
and said, “Look at us.”
He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you:
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”
The man looks to Peter and John and sees not just them, but representatives of Jesus. He looks through them to connect with the presence of Jesus in his Mystical Body. It is by means of this relationship that Peter heals him.
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up,
and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.
We are called to be able to recognize the presence of Jesus as the cripple does. We are called to recognize his presence as the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize it.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
When we are slow to see him in the Eucharist and in his body what should we do? We should open ourselves to his Word. His resurrection power is present in the Eucharist the most profoundly, but it is also present in his Body, and in his Word. And they all feed into one another and strengthen our ability to recognize him in all of his forms.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
As Blessed Teresa of Calcutta tells us:
"All of us know that unless we believe and can see Jesus in the appearance of bread on the altar, we will not be able to see him in the distressing disguise of the poor."Jesus wants us to recognize him. He wants our hearts to burn within us when he speaks. Even when we don't fully recognize him (which, on this side, is always) let us plead with him, "Remain with us LORD". For the longer we spend in his presence the better able to behold him we are, to the degree that we don't even realize fully how much better until he goes.
Like the crippled man at the gate we won't just be healed. We will leap to our feet, walking, jumping and praising God. So let us look at Jesus. Let us keep looking until our eyes are opened.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
22 April 2014 - spirit preaching
22 April 2014 - spirit preaching
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Whom we crucified? Yes. But look at the context. Even this brief exhortation doesn't accuse us without first pointing out the Cross is not the end. Jesus is now established as Lord and Christ. We crucify him, yes, but only as a part of his plan. He lays down his life for his sheep, no one takes it from him. We see our sins, no longer in isolation, but as part of God's plan for redemption.
The Apostles know this. Their preaching is anointed by the Holy Spirit. The crowd doesn't hear condemnation. They hear invitation. They hear the Holy Spirit on the lips of the Apostles. They know that there is something broken within their hearts. At a deep level they know they bear the blame for the death of Jesus. As we all do. But now there is hope.
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The eyes of the LORD are upon us if we just hope in him. We hope in the kindness of the LORD which is greater than our own sinfulness.. He does deliver us from death and preserve us in spite of famine. Even when we are confused and the LORD seems distant he is not far off. Even when the circumstances of the world and the circumstances of our own brokenness seem insurmountable he is near us and calls our name.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
He has so united us to himself that we now share one Father with him. Let us repent and receive the Holy Spirit. Let us join the Apostles in witnessing to the fact that, yes, we are broken, but now there is hope.
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Whom we crucified? Yes. But look at the context. Even this brief exhortation doesn't accuse us without first pointing out the Cross is not the end. Jesus is now established as Lord and Christ. We crucify him, yes, but only as a part of his plan. He lays down his life for his sheep, no one takes it from him. We see our sins, no longer in isolation, but as part of God's plan for redemption.
The Apostles know this. Their preaching is anointed by the Holy Spirit. The crowd doesn't hear condemnation. They hear invitation. They hear the Holy Spirit on the lips of the Apostles. They know that there is something broken within their hearts. At a deep level they know they bear the blame for the death of Jesus. As we all do. But now there is hope.
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The eyes of the LORD are upon us if we just hope in him. We hope in the kindness of the LORD which is greater than our own sinfulness.. He does deliver us from death and preserve us in spite of famine. Even when we are confused and the LORD seems distant he is not far off. Even when the circumstances of the world and the circumstances of our own brokenness seem insurmountable he is near us and calls our name.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
He has so united us to himself that we now share one Father with him. Let us repent and receive the Holy Spirit. Let us join the Apostles in witnessing to the fact that, yes, we are broken, but now there is hope.
Monday, April 21, 2014
21 April 2014 - new life
21 April 2014 - new life
What is the basic truth of Christianity? It is the resurrection!
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
Something broken in us makes this death necessary. It is our sinful hearts which kill Jesus, using lawless men to crucify him (so that we may keep a safe distance from such horrors). Everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God (cf. Rom. 3:23). And sin is, implicitly or explicitly, rebellion against the King. We act toward him as any enemy. We act as the prodigal son, taking his inheritance, implicitly wishing his father dead. But while we are yet sinners Christ dies for us (cf. Rom. 5:8). It seems like our brokenness leads to tragedy, but this has been part of his set plan and foreknowledge from the beginning. He is the "lamb slain since the foundation of the world" (cf. Rev. 13:8) because he is not content to leave his sheep straying and lost:
And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him (cf. Col. 1:21-22.).
Maybe we need one more reminder of how bad things are without the resurrection of Christ:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another (cf. Tit. 3:3).
Do we know that or do we sugarcoat it? But now his resurrection power is available to us. It is the solution to the sin problem and ultimately to the death problem. His death unlocks the blessings of the Holy Spirit in which we can now partake.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.”
This Spirit makes all the difference. We can now live lives of holiness which are pleasing to God.
For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit (cf. Rom. 8:3-4).
Now our hearts can be glad and our souls can rejoice because this life we live is no longer futile. It is no longer just running down the clock. The resurrection empowers us now morally and spiritually in a way proves us that we are God's children, in a way that makes us cry, 'Abba, Father!' This power in us is the hope of our resurrection on the last day.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
So even if we are fearful like Mary Magdalene and the Other Mary let us also be overjoyed and run from the tomb to announce this to the world. Let us hear Jesus quell our fears as he says, "Do not be afraid." Galilee lies ahead. Our risen LORD is there. Let us go to meet him!
What is the basic truth of Christianity? It is the resurrection!
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
Something broken in us makes this death necessary. It is our sinful hearts which kill Jesus, using lawless men to crucify him (so that we may keep a safe distance from such horrors). Everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God (cf. Rom. 3:23). And sin is, implicitly or explicitly, rebellion against the King. We act toward him as any enemy. We act as the prodigal son, taking his inheritance, implicitly wishing his father dead. But while we are yet sinners Christ dies for us (cf. Rom. 5:8). It seems like our brokenness leads to tragedy, but this has been part of his set plan and foreknowledge from the beginning. He is the "lamb slain since the foundation of the world" (cf. Rev. 13:8) because he is not content to leave his sheep straying and lost:
And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him (cf. Col. 1:21-22.).
Maybe we need one more reminder of how bad things are without the resurrection of Christ:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another (cf. Tit. 3:3).
Do we know that or do we sugarcoat it? But now his resurrection power is available to us. It is the solution to the sin problem and ultimately to the death problem. His death unlocks the blessings of the Holy Spirit in which we can now partake.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.”
This Spirit makes all the difference. We can now live lives of holiness which are pleasing to God.
For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit (cf. Rom. 8:3-4).
Now our hearts can be glad and our souls can rejoice because this life we live is no longer futile. It is no longer just running down the clock. The resurrection empowers us now morally and spiritually in a way proves us that we are God's children, in a way that makes us cry, 'Abba, Father!' This power in us is the hope of our resurrection on the last day.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
So even if we are fearful like Mary Magdalene and the Other Mary let us also be overjoyed and run from the tomb to announce this to the world. Let us hear Jesus quell our fears as he says, "Do not be afraid." Galilee lies ahead. Our risen LORD is there. Let us go to meet him!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
20 April 2014 - risen indeed
20 April 2014 - risen indeed
There are a lot of ideas about who Jesus was out in the culture. And most people aren't so generous as to suggest that he is a prophet or Elijah, let alone the Son of God. Was he just a revolutionary? A spiritual leader teaching universal spiritual truths?
We might profitably ask, 'why does he appear in history at all?' And if we want to ask this question we ought to ask it of those who put him there: his disciples. What do they have to say about him?
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
This resurrection is not simply a spiritual reality. The terminology, NT Wright demonstrates, can only refer to bodily resurrection. We may have a hard time comprehending such a thing. But the disciples clearly understand that the normal laws of death and decay have been reversed.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
This is how they understand it. Resurrection forms the core of the earliest parts of the New Testament. Almost without exception the witnesses to it gain nothing by their witness. They are martyred for this truth for generations. They are able to do this precisely because it is a real thing, not a subjective strategy for having good spiritual feelings.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
Because it is real they believe that where Jesus goes they will also follow. His resurrection power even now gives them power to spread the good news. It gives us the same power. And together we even hope to share in the resurrection of the body on the last day.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
Christ is risen! The tomb is empty! Let us "seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Let us seek the resurrection power which he even now pours out through his Spirit in us. This is how we prepare ourselves and the world for last day when all will rise, some to eternal death. But for those of us with this new life within us we hope to rise to life eternal with Jesus, seated on high with God.
There are a lot of ideas about who Jesus was out in the culture. And most people aren't so generous as to suggest that he is a prophet or Elijah, let alone the Son of God. Was he just a revolutionary? A spiritual leader teaching universal spiritual truths?
We might profitably ask, 'why does he appear in history at all?' And if we want to ask this question we ought to ask it of those who put him there: his disciples. What do they have to say about him?
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
This resurrection is not simply a spiritual reality. The terminology, NT Wright demonstrates, can only refer to bodily resurrection. We may have a hard time comprehending such a thing. But the disciples clearly understand that the normal laws of death and decay have been reversed.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
This is how they understand it. Resurrection forms the core of the earliest parts of the New Testament. Almost without exception the witnesses to it gain nothing by their witness. They are martyred for this truth for generations. They are able to do this precisely because it is a real thing, not a subjective strategy for having good spiritual feelings.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
Because it is real they believe that where Jesus goes they will also follow. His resurrection power even now gives them power to spread the good news. It gives us the same power. And together we even hope to share in the resurrection of the body on the last day.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
Christ is risen! The tomb is empty! Let us "seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Let us seek the resurrection power which he even now pours out through his Spirit in us. This is how we prepare ourselves and the world for last day when all will rise, some to eternal death. But for those of us with this new life within us we hope to rise to life eternal with Jesus, seated on high with God.
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